REAL LIFE STORIES OF ENCOURAGEMENT, TRIAL, AND GOD’S FAITHFULNESS THROUGH IT ALL.

Then There Were Seven
Foster / Adoption Matt Parker Foster / Adoption Matt Parker

Then There Were Seven

The first day they drop off a child at your home who has been in foster care is hard. You know something bad has happened or they wouldn’t be there. You don’t yet know the details, and truly they don’t matter at this point. A child needs a safe and stable place to sleep and that, you can provide.

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Why Do You Pursue Holiness?
Christian Living Matt Parker Christian Living Matt Parker

Why Do You Pursue Holiness?

"What is your motivation for your struggle for holiness?

"If I do things around the house like clean up, do the dishes, or laundry because of fear that if I don't my wife will go bananas and yell at me, how much joy do I find in doing those things?  However, if I do the very same things out of love for her and out of a desire to serve her and for her joy, then how much joy do I find in doing those things?

"It is the same way with God.  If my motivation for holiness is fear, then there we find no joy.  If our motivation is love, then in that we find infinite joy."

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Don't Worry About It, It's In the Past
Christian Living, Discipleship Matt Parker Christian Living, Discipleship Matt Parker

Don't Worry About It, It's In the Past

One of the things I love about scripture is the divinely inspired tensions that seem to riddle its pages. One of those moments comes from the Apostle Paul in Philippians 3:13-14. In it, Paul says, 

"13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

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What Do You Worship?
Christian Living Matt Parker Christian Living Matt Parker

What Do You Worship?

Many years ago I heard a sermon where the preacher pointed out how we could tell what was important to us by what was in our checkbook register. Apparently at that time, as now, Wal-Mart is EXTREMELY high on that list. It isn’t that I worship Wal-Mart, it just so happens the bulk of what we buy for our family of 7 comes from there. I mean, they carry everything!

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She Said, "Yes"
Parenting Matt Parker Parenting Matt Parker

She Said, "Yes"

I remember like it was yesterday. We were expecting our second child and this time we didn't know if it was a boy or a girl. I had a boy, and that was awesome, every dad's dream is to have a son to play ball with, teach to run a drill, and how to be a man. This time, though, I wanted a girl. 

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Expectations and Perspective
Matt Parker Matt Parker

Expectations and Perspective

If there is one thing I have learned as a foster / adoptive parent it is that my perspective is often wrong, or at least different. By often I mean almost always, it seems. As we prepared to go on a short little vacation with our boys, we started noticing strange questions, packing sequences that didn't make sense, and other oddities. It didn't take long to realize that once again, our perspective was off. I'll explain what I mean by sharing some conversations we had before and during our vacation.

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The Trauma Informed Teacher - The Silent Front Line
Matt Parker Matt Parker

The Trauma Informed Teacher - The Silent Front Line

If you are an educator, you NEED to read this. As an educator, parent, and foster parent of children impacted by trauma this is spot on, needed,and under-trained. You guys are the day to day front line from 8 to 4. Seriously. Read it. Please. This concept should be in every Professional Development package an administrator puts together.

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12 Ways Our Children Described Our Family
Matt Parker Matt Parker

12 Ways Our Children Described Our Family

Have you ever wondered how other people think of you or your family? I have. As my kids have gotten older and our first grandchild came on the scene, I have wondered what they think about our family and how they would describe it to someone else. So, a couple of weeks ago I asked them to list a few things they think of when they think of "us", things that defined who we are through their eyes. This isn't a complete list by any means, but here is what they said...

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She Said So Herself
Parenting Matt Parker Parenting Matt Parker

She Said So Herself

So, tonight we put Brynna to bed, it was uneventful. You know, only 4 meds tonight instead of 5; no shot today. Even on simple nights I'm sometimes reminded, and saddened a little, that normal for us is "how many meds are we giving tonight?". But times like this make that a short-lived thought ... you see, when we brought her home they said she would never love, know love, show love, let alone speak love.

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My Daughter's Nurses are Family
Matt Parker Matt Parker

My Daughter's Nurses are Family

As the parents of a child with chronic special needs and foster/adoptive parents, we have had someone in and out of our home almost constantly for over a decade. Even before we ever brought Brynna home from the hospital we had to meet with social workers, DME (Durable Medical Equipment) companies, doctors, nursing agencies, and eventually, the nurses themselves.

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Parenting Matt Parker Parenting Matt Parker

Everyone Can Help With Foster Care

“Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”

James 1:27

For me, it sank in at one of our first training events. I remember it very well as we walked down the hallway of Mobberly Baptist Church in Longview, Texas. Every ten feet or so there was an easel. On each easel was a poster with pictures on it. Pictures of kids. Kids that needed a home. Their names were listed at the bottom. There were so many, and this wasn’t the half of it.

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Confess. Repent. Repeat.
Christian Living Matt Parker Christian Living Matt Parker

Confess. Repent. Repeat.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 1:9

Confession is the heart of the matter when dealing with sin when temptation has overtaken us when our fleshly desires win the momentary battle and we indulge in self-gratification. While John speaks of confessing to God, it is also vitally important to have an accountability partner or group to which we can also confess. Look at James 5:16:

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Matt Parker Matt Parker

The Development of Sin - Part 5

LIMITING OPPORTUNITIES

As we discussed last time, the real ‘cure’ for sin is a transformed heart, not behavior modification. If we aren’t changing from the inside out, we aren’t really changing at all. We are simply becoming what Jesus would call whitewashed tombs that remain full of the decaying evidence of our broken and sinful natures. However, there are also some very practical things we can do to deal with the sin problem, remembering only God can fully eradicate sin through regeneration of the heart, but our flesh is still broken. 2 Corinthians 4:7-9 tells us that the treasure of Christ exists in jars of clay. Our bodies are broken and present us with a constant battle of spirit and flesh that will only truly end when we are glorified at His coming.

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Matt Parker Matt Parker

The Development of Sin - Part 4

I’ll be honest, I struggled with the title of this section. “The Cure” seemed inadequate and frankly, a bit optimistic. I don’t know about you, but I constantly struggle with temptation and sin. I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t, in fact. So is it a bit too far to talk about a cure? I don’t think so.

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Matt Parker Matt Parker

The Future of the SBC and JD Greear

I'm not gonna lie, I've just about had it. At least that's where I was yesterday, and for most of today to be honest. I'd pretty much had my fill of the way the SBC leadership and the leadership of the SBTC had behaved in the recent past and was, and maybe still am, calling for a possible exodus of churches if they can't get their act together. Frankly, I think the current leadership totally botched the Dr. Patterson issue. That's just my opinion, but I'm not alone.

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